Tobacco curing and ordering apparatus.



N0. 646'g2l8. l Patented Mar. 27, |900.

" J. L. HOLLINGSWORTH.

TOBACCO OURING AND ORDERING APPARATUS.

(Application med Aug. 25, i899.) (No Model.)

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No. 46,|8. Patented Mar. 27, |900.

.1. L. HoLLmGswunTH.

TUBACQO CURING AND ORDERING APPARATUS.

. (Application fixed Aug. 25, 1399.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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time@ STATES JAMES L. HOLLINGSWORTH,

PATIENT, Ormes?.

TOBACCO CU RING AAND ORDERING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 646,218, dated March 27, 190C.

Application filed August 25j 1899. Serial No. 728,475. (No model.)

T0 'a/ZZ wiz/0711, t 71'tct1J/"c71/c'r7'z: i Be it known that '1, JAMES L. HoLLiNGs WORTH, residing at Newbern, in the county of Dyer and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco Curing yand Ordering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to tobacco treating,

particularly to means for rst drying the samev and afterward damping or casing or ordering it; and primarily this invention seeks to provide an improved means of the character noted capable of being economically constructed and easilyset up for use within or in connection with an ordinary tobacco-drying house or barn; v

This invention generally comprisesa novel and portable system of smoke and air disseminating pipes capable of being detaehably supported Within the drying house or barn and means disposed externally ofthe barn for feeding smoke, hot air, or both, or moist air into the disseminating-pipes, as conditions may make desirable, Without necessarily disorganizin g any of the component parts constituting the complete structure and without necessarily waitin g for a' proper humidity 0r dampness of the atmospheric air and without changing the position of the tobacco supported within the barn lor housing when it is desired to order same by h'umidizing'it.

Another and desirable object of my inven tion is to provide a novel arrangement of portable air and smoke disseminator capable of discharging the air or smoke in such directions aud manner relatively to the staple hung from the poles or hangers that the'drying or dampening operation canrbe the more expeditiously, economically, and effectively accomplished.

With these and other objects in View, which' hereinafter will appear, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and peculiar combination of parts, as will be first described and then specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,inwhich- Figure l is a Vperspective view of a tobacco curing and orderingv barn,illustrating a practical operation of .my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the barn, illustrating the manner-in whichithe portable smoke and air distransverse pipe-sections.

` bacco.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts in all the figures, l indicates the barn or curinghouse, which in its general construction may be of the conventional size and shape. The tobacco-supportingvmeans are, however, especially arranged to provide for conveniently setting in place my improved system of pip-V ing, which is intended tov be detachably held `within the barn, and for this purpose the sides of the barn have a series of horizontally-disposed cleats 2, upon which the transverse hanger-rods 3 are detachably and adj ustably supported, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The pipe system comprises a series of longitudinal sections connected by a series of For the ordinary size tobacco-barn but two side sections are provided, each of which, as will be readily understood by referring to Fig. 3, consists of a lower horizontal pipe 4, an upper horizontal pipe 4, and a series of vertical pipes 4b, join ed to the upper and lower pipes 4 4a. The two side sections are joined by a series of transverse pipes 5, arranged in clearly-defined horizontal tiers, and these pipes 5 are perforated, the pipes 4', 4, and 4b being imperforate for apurpose presently explained. One of the vbottom pipes 4 has a lateral inlet-section n4c, which in' practice projects through the side of the barn and connects with the offtake of the smoke, air, and humidizing generator, as clearly shown in Fig. l. Y

In the practical construction of the disseminating-pipes the perforated pipes are divided into regular vertical as well as horizontal tiers, and the said tiers are so spaced relatively to the arrangement of the tobaccohangers that each vertical tier of perforated IDO pipes will discharge upward between a pair I of tiers of suspended tobacco-bunches, as best shown in Fig. 2. The correlation of the tobacco-bunches and the perforated-pipe tiers the condition of the staple may make desir able, by reason of the hanger-rods being loosely mounted on the cleats f2. The rods 3 are also loosely supported on the cleats for the reason that the pipe system when tted together can be placed into the barn in its complete shape by carrying it endwise into one end of the barn, an operation that could not he donewere the-rods 3 fiXedly secured in place, said rods 3 in practice being lifted into a proper position after the tobaccobunches have been hung therein andV after the disseminating-pipe system has been set within the barn.

The perforated pipes can be connected to the vertical or end pipesby ordinary union.- couplings, as indicated in Figs. 2 and3; butI prefer to detachably connect them to the said end pipes, because such arrangement admits of regulating the number ofejector-pipesto suitthe size ofthe barn and the quantity and character of the staple to'be treated. Under all conditions, however, the side portions of the piping are made of a fixed size, thefnumber of the perforated pipes being increased or diminished, as desired. For thispurpose suitable means are provided whereby theperforated pipes can be conveniently andqui'ckly placed into position or detached, as desired.

In Figs. 4 and 4 I have illustrated one way of.

doing this and also for closing oif the opening in the feeder-pipes 4b when the transversepipe isomitted` or disconnected. In saidfgnres it will be seen that the pipe 4J has a dis chargeaperture 4d, and at a point in line with such aperture said pipe carries arotatable cuff'.

member 6, having an opening adapted to be brought into register with the opening 4d and,

havinga sea-t portion 6 to receive the endof the perforated pipe 5. To connectthe pipe 5 to.pipe4", it is only necessary to rotate the member 6 to bring its opening into` register with pipe 4b to seat the end of pipe on said` member 6, with its end close against the ap` To make the joint tight, an asbes-` ertu re` 4d. tos washer 7 is inserted between the pipe 5 and member (i and the said pipe` held fast against said washer by clamping devices, a

simple form of such devices being shown,`

which consists of a spring-wire Slooped about pipe 4b and about itself and havingits ends 8L hooked int-o the perforations of pipe 5. By providing a joint such as described it is obvious thatwhen the pipe-section is removed the opening 4d can be readily closed by properlyturning the cuit G.

By arranging the perforated pipes as described they will discharge up between the bunches as also down over them andsidewise,

the upper and lower sections dominatingv to` such an extent as to provideA for a more positive penetration of the discharges i from the pipes between the bunches.

4all the coiled` pipes.

This result .is

attained to a high degree on account of the pipesj forming the sides being'imperforate, such arrangement also providing for the more uniform dissemination of the discharges both as to volume and condition for the reason that were the side members perforated the discharges from the transverse pipes, especially those at the top, would be materially decreased and of less effect than the discharges through the lowermost tiers of pipes.

So far as described the operation is as follows: Smoke or hot air, or a mixture of both, passing into the disseminator escapes only throughthe perforated transversely-disposed pipes andin such manner as to cause a quick,

uniform, and effective drying-of the staple. i

After the staple is dried asrdesired. the same can be immediately ordered` or humidized Without inthe slightest rearranging-theparts within the barn or shifting the tobacco from `may be obtained byV connectinga speciallhn- `midizing means with the inlet` to ithe disseminator, yet I prefer to employ a generating means which can be almost instantly ad `justed to discharge` dry air` orsmoke, or both, at the same-time, or a moist au', Without re- `quiri'nga secondaryor supplemental means other than the generator, having a single offa take connecting withthe disseminator;

The generator in its general construction- 'that is, as a meansfor creating and dischar ling smoke, dry hot air, or both, or moist air-- forms an essential feature of myipresent case.

Iishall, howeveigto render its operation and- ,advantages clear, describe the samein detail.

The generator shown in detail in Figlcomprisesa body formed, preferably, of: sheeti 'metaland mountedfon casters to facilitate its movement. conical top 10, with which thenatural, offtake-.pipe 1l is connected.

can be readily increased ordiminishedy by` a proper shifting of the sliding hood 14,` as shown.

16 indicates one set of` aseriesof coil:-pipes, the lowermost 1n embers o1` legs of which form acrownpartof the fire-space 17, the end of said pipes aswell as all of the other like 4seriesot' pipes (not shown) opening into a col-` lecting-space 18 common to the lower` endof The upper ends; of all the pipe-coils discharge into a collecting-'space 19l1aving a single `oittake 20 that-dischargesA into a smoke-outlet 21, that: opens intothe conical top of the body l, its entrantendhaw ing afsparkfarrester 22. and anagitator 23,

for clearing` it. Thepipe or outlet 2l has a cut-olf damper. 24ashas the` oltake 20,w

saidofftake 20 alsohaving atvalvedi branch pipe 25, that injectsair into the pipe2l.

Thegrateportion ot'` the fire-.pot isformed of a series oftubular pipesz, thatcommuni- ThebodyA 10 terminates in a.

This pipe has a1 cut-off valve 12 and at a` point above saidl valve it has air-inlets 13, the areaof which` 'cate at one end with the air-space 18 and at the other end discharge into a space27gwhich in turn discharges in to the spacef19.

2S indicates brackets projected from one side of the generator-body, on which is supported a suction-pipe 29, that discharges at the lower end intona fan-chamber 30, that haas its outlet-discharge into a space 31,with which a series of j et-pipes 32 communicate and which are disposed below the grate-pipes and discharge up between them. :f

33 indicates a blower operated by electric or other power, which has its blowpipe held to' discharge into the space 1S.

34: indicates an elbow-pipe section pivotally supported in the pipe 29 to turn in ahorizontal plane, said section having an attached handle 35, whereby it can be conveniently manipulated. The elbow-pipe is so arranged that it can be swung over the draft-Hue 11 and form, as it were, together with the suction-fan, a means for creating an increased draft and also for consuming the smoke or products of combustion. The blower may be driven in any well-known manner, for example, by belting it with the main-blast fanshaft. In the latter case by shifting the belt 36 the suction-fan can be held at rest and the generator operated by its natural draft.

37 indicates a water-jacket surroundin g the heating-space of the generator. This provides a simple means for generating moisture.

The water-space has a suitable feed at one point and a blow-off 38, which has also a Wayvalve 39, that can be set to discharge into atmosphere or into the air-offtake flue-pipe 20.

In practice the generator is located adjacent the barn under a shed or other housing. When it is desired to smoke-dry the tobacco, the means for creating an air-blast are held at rest and the pipe 2O closed and the daniper in the pipe 11 also closed. This will cause the smoke to pass out into the single offtake 2l into the disseminating-pipes within the barn, danger of fire being reduced tothe minimum by reason of the spark-arrester at the entrant end of the oiftake 21 and the fact that the discharge-pipes in the barn have very small outlets. Should it be desired to create an increased draft, the valve in pipe 21 and in its injector-section may be slightlybpened or the draft may be regulated by opening the door in the ash-pit of the heater. Now should it be desired to discharge both hot air and smoke it is only necessary to open the valve in the pipe 20 full and set the blast-fan running to feeiilhe air under pressure, if desired. To feed-air onlytlskmsciosed and the smokeh allowedtopass.o.ut thenatural;offtake 11. Should it be desired to humidize the tobacco after being dried, this can be done by opening the valve in the discharge from the fluid-space to allow the steam to pass out with the warm air. Thus it will be seen I can begin to humidize the tobacco almost instantly after it has been dried. I can dry it by smoke alone, hot-air alone, or both hot air and smoke, and after it is dry I can disseminate moisture to properly cure or order the tobacco, the several operations of treating the tobacco being accomplished without shifting ialhe tobacco -bunches after they have been ung.

While I have described and illustrated my invention as especially adapted for treating tobacco, it is obvious it can be usedfor other drying and humidizing purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A tobacco-treating apparatus, comprising a suitable barn or housing means for detachably suspending the tobacco-bunches in clearly-defined horizontal and vertical rows; a disseminator for discharging air, smoke or moisture into the barn, said disseminator comprising a series of portable pipes consisting of longitudinal imperforated side sections and perforated transverse pipes, connecting the side sections; one of the side sections having an inlet and a generator, having means for alternately forcing hot, or moist air into the disseminator, substantially as shown and for the purpose described.

2. In atobacco-treating apparatus, the combination with the barn; the means for distributing the smoke or air into the staple and means for suspending the staple substantially as described; of a generator having its discharge connected with the disseminator, comprising a heater provided with air-circulating pipes, said heater having a water-jacket connected with the air-offtake, and a smoke-otake connected with the air-offtake, said air and smoke offtakes and the water-jacket offtake, having valves whereby to govern the flow of air, smoke or moisture, all being arranged substantially as shown and described.

3. An apparatus for the purposes described, comprising a barn or housing, having means for detachably and adj ustably supporting the tobacco-bunches in clearly-defined rows; of a portable means for discharging the air or vapor in clearly-dened directions relatively to the suspended bunches, said means comprising a pair of side frames formed of pipetubing 4r 4b, one of said frames having an inlet 4c, said tubing having its vertical members 4b, formed with outlets, combined cuff and coupling members rotatably mounted over the outlets in said members 4", said coupling members having openings adapted to register with the outlets about which they rotate; a series of perforated tubular pipes having their ends adapted to seat in the rotatable cuff members; means for holding the said pipes secured to such members and means for forcing air, smoke or vapor into the disseminating-pipes, for the purposes specified.

4. As an improvement in treating tobacco, the combination with the barn or housing having a series of longitudinal cleats 2, on its inner sides; the disseminator adapted to be moved into the barn in its complete form, said IOO IIO

disseminator comprising the side members means for charging hot, or moist air intothe eomposed of the imperforated pipes 4 4a and inlet 4, all being arranged substantially as 1o 4"; the perforated transverse pipes; means for shown and described.

detachably securing the said pipes to the pipes JAMES L HOLLINGSWORTH;

\ 4b, of the side sections; one of the pipes 4,

having an inlet 4, adapted to project through Witnesses: 1 the side of the barn; the rods 3, detaehably Mrs. J. L HOLLINGSWORTH, and adjustably held on the side Cleats 2, and FRED G. DIETERICH; 

